LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Pelno mokestis; Palyginimo principas; Pajamos; Sąnaudos; Income tax; Legal entities taxation; Matching principle.
ENAccording to Republic of Lithuania law on corporate income tax Article 7 paragraph 1 income and costs shall be recognised on an accrual basis and in accordance with other accounting principles laid down in the legal acts that regulate accounting, except for the cases where, in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter, income may be recognised in accordance with the principle of cash accounting and in accordance with the provisions of this Article. One of these other principles is the matching principle. Fiscal substance of matching principle means that income earned during the tax period is related to expenses incurred to earn such income. The object of this article is disclosure of matching principle substance and its application aspects according to Law on corporate income tax. The purpose of this article is to raise discussion about matching principle fiscal substance with the intention to verify appropriate explanation of this principle as tax law element. Analysis is performed to discuss if comparison between costs and income is self-dependent principle or just one of conditions based on application of accrual principle for the purpose of legal entities taxation on corporate income tax. Consequently, there are analyzed other application of matching principle aspects. This scientific research reveals that comparison between costs and income (matching requirement) can not be described as self-dependent principle. The core subject-matter should be identified as one of the term following accrual principle application for the purpose to tax on corporate income tax.With reference to the purpose of this article, there are defined that according to matching principle (requirement) costs related to different tax periods should be recognized in tax periods in which tax payers gain income as it shall not be reversed (income shall not be recognized in different tax periods as relating to incurred costs). Furthermore, research reveals that comparison between costs and income as costs should be directly linked to income gained in exactly tax period is not absolute in tax law. Formal contravention of matching principle (requirement) could be acceptable if tax abuse or distortion of corporate income tax base are not identified. Inter alia, the article emphasizes that analysis of matching principle (requirement) shows that identification of tax payer dishonesty automatically does not lead to the forfeit of costs related to income deduction. [From the publication]